'Hah... this simple-minded bastard.'

  [System: Guild Chat has been activated.]

  With a cheerful Ding, a semi-transparent chat window popped up on the left side of my vision.

  As soon as the [Guild] tab blinked, messages from guild members welcoming our newly joined party poured in like a waterfall.

  [Guild Member] RomanticCat: Oh! Newbies! Hi hi

  [Guild Member] BornHealer: Wow, four people at once? Awesome lol

  [Guild Member] FlameFist: Welcome~ What are your levels?

  [Guild Master] Kangyu: These are experts I scouted myself! Everyone, treat them well!

  The chat log scrolled up frantically. It seemed the guild was quite a bit larger than I thought.

  [Guild Member] Ian: Hello! I'm the future Rank 1, Ian! Hahaha!

  [Guild Member] Savior: Nice to meet you.

  [Guild Member] Succubus: Hello...

  [Guild Member] Jude: I look forward to working with you.

  As soon as the brief greetings ended, Kangyu suddenly interjected.

  As expected, a gamer's biggest interest was 'speccing up'.

  "Anyway, looking at your hunting speed, it seems you cleared the Goblin Camp quest a while ago. Have you tried pulling for pets yet?"

  Kangyu's eyes sparkled with an expression that said he was dying to know the results right this second.

  "Not yet. I'm saving it and thinking about giving it a try maybe tomorrow."

  I answered, pretending to be relaxed.

  In reality, all my attention was focused elsewhere right now.

  [Ding!] [Ding!]

  I chuckled and waved my hand dismissively.

  My gaze was fixed on the auction house window floating in the air.

  "Kuugh, your patience is amazing. If it were me, I would have cracked them open the moment the shop unlocked."

  Kangyu smacked his lips as if it were a shame.

  "Then I won't disturb you! Hope you get some good drops!"

  He waved his hand energetically and dove into the goblin horde.

  I couldn't help my stomach hurting every time I saw the greatsword flashing behind Ian's back.

  'Ah, just how much is that thing worth......'

  Leaving my regrets behind, I pulled out my hidden weapon. [Authority of the Legionnaire], permanently etched in red in my skill window.

  "Summon..."

  Along with a flashy cluster of red light, three massive goblins as tall as me revealed themselves.

  They were on a completely different level from normal goblins.

  Their solid, muscular upper bodies were bare, but necklaces made of unidentified teeth jingled around their necks, and bizarre tribal tattoos drawn with white pigment on their backs exuded an intimidating presence.

  Sharp spears and sturdy shields in hand. The creatures exhaled roughly, awaiting my command.

  "Grrrrrr......"

  At the same time, a semi-transparent hologram window popped up in my vision.

  [Command: Standby / Escort / Aggressive]

  'I can control them?'

  Beasts unleashed from their shackles.

  The royal guards began to massacre their own kind, swinging their long spears like windmills.

  The regular goblins were swept away like falling autumn leaves without even being able to put up a single fight.

  'To think this OP skill is mine......'

  I couldn't stop laughing.

  Tanking? Perfect. DPS? Guaranteed.

  I didn't even need to raise my bow. In the places they swept through, only EXP and items were left behind.

  'Now this is a game!'

  It felt like I was finally receiving the reward for my past 10 years of gaming life.

  Unable to control my overwhelming emotions, I looked up at the virtual sky and roared in my heart.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  'I love you, developers! Make lots of money and live long, healthy lives!'

  Checking the auction house with the guards' massacre playing in the background, a number that made me doubt my eyes was stamped there.

  [Current Bid: 1,000,000 Lumina]

  Counting the number of zeros over and over again, my jaw dropped.

  I even started to feel a sense of anxiety, wondering if it was okay for such happy events to happen one after another.

  'Am I...... going to die tomorrow?'

  In real-world cash value, it was well over 10 million won.

  To think a mere single item was a third of my annual salary.

  My sense of reality, where I had to work a full month to barely make 3 million won, felt paralyzed.

  'Should I safely stick it in a savings account first? Or maybe...... pay off a bit of that damn car loan?'

  Countless happy dilemmas flashed through my mind.

  However, what cut off that sweet temptation was the gold farmer's instinct deeply embedded in my body.

  [Investment = Faster Hunting Speed = Increased Profit]

  The conclusion was clear.

  If I were satisfied with the settlement money I could hold right now, that would be the end of it.

  But what if I boldly reinvested my share? It would return as an endless spring.

  'Let's go. This isn't gambling; it's a solid business venture.'

  I was drunk on the sweet high of EXP, completely losing track of time.

  The mechanical repetition of a massacre: the guards swept them up, and I looted.

  When I snapped back to my senses and checked my status window, my level was already sitting at 24.

  [ Status Information ]

  ───────────────

  Name: Savior

  Level: 24

  [ Health ] 720 / 720

  [ Mana ] 280 / 280

  ───────────────

  [ Combat Stats ]

  Attack Power: 342 (+110)

  Defense: 65 (+15)

  ───────────────

  [ Attributes ]

  ? Strength (STR): 18

  ? Agility (AGI): 82 (+12)

  ? Constitution (CON): 24

  ? Intelligence (INT): 10

  ? Perception (PER): 20

  ───────────────

  Behind a smile of satisfaction, I promised to meet the trio tomorrow and logged out.

  And the next day.

  As soon as I opened my eyes, I logged into the game as if possessed, without even washing my face.

  My finger instinctively sought out the Auction House icon.

  [ Sale Complete ]

  Final Winning Bid: 1,300,000 Lumina

  My breath caught in my throat.

  The bid I thought would stop at 1 million had skyrocketed further overnight.

  Seeing the 'Settlement Available' message floating in the center of the screen, my heart beat so fast it deafened my ears, no matter how hard I tried to calm down.

  'Phew......'

  Clutching my heart that felt like it was going to burst, I carefully pressed the [Settle] button with a trembling finger.

  [Ding―!]

  [System: The amount excluding the 5% Auction House fee will be distributed.]

  With a cheerful notification sound, the number was updated.

  1,235,000 Lumina.

  Even though a painful fee was deducted, it was still an overwhelming amount.

  The moment that radiant number hit my Premium Shop balance, a thrill ran through my entire body.

  It was then. Like hyenas catching a scent, Ian, Succubus, and Jude suddenly appeared beside me.

  "Savior! Did you sleep well?!"

  The moment I saw their brightly smiling faces, the alarm bells in my head went off.

  'The forces of evil here to rip away my money......'

  They were certainly comrades who had shared life and death with me, but looking at the massive amount of Lumina before my eyes, all those past memories were completely forgotten.

  Without realizing it, I growled at them with an expression that said, 'Touch my money and I bite.'

  "......Ahem."

  Fortunately, my reason quickly returned. Coughing awkwardly, I swiftly managed my expression.

  "Ah, welcome. Your timing is impeccable, everyone. The settlement just finished."

  When I recited the settled amount, the trio's eyes went wide.

  "WAAAAAH!!"

  They hugged each other, jumping up and down and screaming as if they had won first prize in the lottery.

  With the feeling of vomiting blood, I initiated trades with them one by one.

  My fingers trembled so much that it took a long time just to enter the numbers.

  [System: Transferred 308,750 Lumina to 'Ian'.]

  [- 308,750]

  'Ugh......'

  The pit of my stomach felt stifling, as if it were completely blocked. But the torture wasn't over yet.

  [System: Transferred 308,750 Lumina to 'Succubus'.]

  [- 308,750]

  'No...... my money......'

  My vision spun. The moment I pressed the transfer button for Jude last, I squeezed my eyes shut.

  [- 308,750]

  '......'

  The once-fat balance was reduced to less than half in an instant.

  Every time the number shrank, it felt like my soul was draining away with it.

  "Heugh...... heugh......"

  Wiping my forehead drenched in cold sweat, I struggled to catch my breath. It felt like I was going to get anemia.

  "YEEEHAW!!"

  Seeing the numbers deposited into their accounts, the trio let out shrieks loud enough to blow away the Goblin Camp, rejoicing wildly.

  "Awesome! Ever since we met you, Savior, everything is really working out so smoothly! Thank you!"

  Ian's heartfelt praise.

  Hearing those words, a bit of color began to return to my complexion, which had turned pale from losing (distributing) the money.

  'Sigh... look at them being so happy...'

  Leaving my regrets behind, I opened the Premium Shop.

  My gaze naturally headed to the very bottom of the shop, towards the most brilliantly glowing package.

  [Constellation Egg Package]

  'Probability 0.000001%......'

  An abysmal probability. Opening it now would obviously be the same as throwing money into thin air.

  '110,000 Won.'

  If it weren't for the auction house jackpot, it was a huge sum of money that would have made my hands tremble too much to even get near the checkout window.

  Having finished my careful deliberation, I boldly touched the [Purchase] button.

  [Purchase Complete]

  Soon after, two egg-shaped items radiantly emitting a red light entered my inventory.

  'Right, let's let these sit. This isn't a game I'm playing just for a short bit, so I'll save them up and crack them all at once later.'

  The real game started now.

  I turned my gaze to the [Pet Summon: 11 Times (1,000 Lumina)] category.

  When the gacha button caught my eye, my heart started pounding again. Taking a deep breath, I prayed.

  Gulp.

  'Please...... just let me pull one usable thing!'

  With a trembling finger, I touched the [Summon 11 Times] button.

  [System: Summoning is commencing.]

  The Premium Shop's hologram screen wavered, and 11 eggs floating gently in the air began to shake.

  Thump. Thump.

  The moment light leaked from between the eggshells, my heart also beat as if it would burst.

  However.

  Crack―!

  Unlike the cheerful sound of the eggs cracking, the golden or purple flashes of light I had expected did not burst forth.

  What appeared, accompanied by a bland effect, were only things that looked like they'd be lying everywhere if you went to a forest.

  [Acquired: Mountain Hare (Common)]

  [Acquired: Spotted Deer (Common)]

  [Acquired: Red Fox (Common)]

  To look at, they were excessively realistic and cute.

  But sadly, to my eyes, they just looked like 'duds'.

  As if possessed by something, my index finger was crazily mashing the [Summon Again] button.

  Flash! Flash!

  Flashy effects burst non-stop, but they didn't enter my eyes.

  Only the balance at the top of the Premium Shop was embedded in my vision.

  The numbers were dropping like a waterfall.

  [ Balance: 250,000 Lumina ]

  '......Huh? What the?'

  Before my brain could even process the situation, my finger moved on its own.

  [ Balance: 200,000 Lumina ]

  'Hey, you crazy bastard! What are you doing!!!'

  [ Balance: 180,000 Lumina ]

  The moment my mental state was crumbling to dust.

  A single egg that appeared in the center of the screen began to shine bizarrely bright.

  'Huh?'

  My breath hitched.

  It wasn't the ordinary white light that had been coming out until now. It was an intense aura that seemed like it would blind me.

  'This animation is...... could it be?!'